Wau Ke Na Preserve - South Tract
Managed by Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy
232 acres3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
B+Outdoors
Outdoors in Ganges Township
Ganges Township has 1,516 acres of parks, 583 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Wau Ke Na Preserve - South Tract (3 mi), Wau-Ke-Na Preserve North Tract (1 mi). 8% of Ganges Township’s land is conserved, about 1,574 acres. 35% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 73% of U.S. towns · #261 of 701 in Michigan. What drives it
Conserved land
8%
1,574 acres · of 32.2 sq mi of land
Trails
14 mi
0.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,516 ac
583 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
35%
of residents within ½ mile
What kind of outdoors town is Ganges Township?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Ganges Township have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Ganges Township is ahead of 73% of U.S. towns, #261 of 701 in Michigan. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Ganges Township’s overall grade.
Conserved land8% of the land · typical MI town 5% · U.S. 4%B+Trails0.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (14 mi) · MI 0.3 · U.S. 0.4BPark land583 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,516 acres) · MI 33 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home35% of residents within a half mile of a park · MI 50% · U.S. 72%C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 73%
LessMore
Michigan towns of 2,500+ (701)Ahead of 63%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A−. Trails and many small parks come from OpenStreetMap, mapped by volunteers, so coverage varies from town to town; the half mile is a straight line from each census block, so a river or highway in the way isn’t counted against it.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
The map
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Easements protect land from building but are usually private.© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is Wau Ke Na Preserve - South Tract, with 3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Wau-Ke-Na Preserve North Tract
Managed by Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy
66 acres1 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Allegan State Game Area
Managed by Michigan Department of Natural Resources
1,178 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 7 parks & preserves
Wau Ke Na Preserve - South Tract232 acres · 3 mi of trail · Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy
DirectionsWau-Ke-Na Preserve North Tract66 acres · 1 mi of trail · Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy
DirectionsWest Side County Park12 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
DirectionsAllegan State Game Area1,178 acres · Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Southwest Michigan Underwater Preserve5 acres
DirectionsHudson Hertiage Farm2 acres
Pier Cove Township Park1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
1,574 conserved acres
8% of Ganges Township’s land. Who manages Ganges Township’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
State fish & wildlife1,175 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits484 ac
County31 ac
State Conservation Area · 1,175 acPrivate Conservation · 358 acConservation Easement · 126 acLocal Park · 31 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 10 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 4 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Allegan State Game Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 1,175 | Open |
| Wau-Ke-Na Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 358 | Unknown |
| West Side Park Local Park | County | 31 | Open |
Things to do
2 places to go in Ganges Township
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Ganges Township
1 beach without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Playgrounds in Ganges Township
1 playground without a name on the map.
Biking & sports
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Courts & fields
1Tennis
1Beach volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Ganges Township: June to September
NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals for the town and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have long days, highs of 59 to 86 °F and little rain for the place.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 9.4 | 10.5 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.6 | 15.3 | 15.0 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.7 | 9.1 |
| High (°F) | 32 | 35 | 45 | 57 | 69 | 78 | 82 | 80 | 74 | 61 | 48 | 37 |
| Rain (in) | 2.4 | 2.0 | 2.1 | 3.5 | 3.9 | 3.6 | 3.3 | 3.5 | 3.2 | 3.9 | 2.9 | 2.5 |
February is the driest month (2.0 in) and July the warmest (highs of 82 °F). 3.9 inches fall in October, the wettest month. The climate in Ganges Township →
Next door
Ganges Township and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ganges Township | 8% | 0.4 | 583 | 35% | B+ |
| Clyde Township | 55% | 0.5 | 4,960 | 64% | A |
| Casco Township | 1% | 0.1 | 6 | 11% | D |
| Saugatuck Township | 4% | 1.0 | 93 | 47% | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Ganges Township
Where can I hike in Ganges Township?
The longest trail networks: Wau Ke Na Preserve - South Tract, 3 miles; Wau-Ke-Na Preserve North Tract, 1 miles; West Side County Park, 0.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Ganges Township is conserved land?
8% of its land, against a typical 5% for a Michigan town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Ganges Township’s trails?
Wau Ke Na Preserve - South Tract and Wau-Ke-Na Preserve North Tract don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Ganges Township?
42,228 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Ganges Township or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,516 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Ganges Township have?
Ahead of 73% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #261 of 701 in Michigan. The grade combines the share of land that is conserved, miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, park acres per 1,000 residents and the share of residents within a half mile of a park. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Trail talk
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Ganges Township neighbors.
Share a tip
Sources
Where this page comes from
Conserved and public land: USGS Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US), service updated July 2026. Parks, trails, playgrounds, beaches and other places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), map data as of 2026-10-28. Land and water area: Census 2025 Gazetteer. Residents near a park: 2020 Census blocks. National Register: National Park Service. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →